Origin of Name
According to the Missouri Secretary of State the County was named by Alexander Doniphan to honor an Indian fighter who his father knew in Kentucky. for whom Caldwell County, Kentucky is named.
Robert L. Ramsay who wrote books about the placenames in Missouri says the county was named for Matthew Caldwell "commander of Indian Scouts in Kentucky" in the War of 1812. No further details are given. The prominent Caldwell war name from Kentucky during this period is William Caldwell (ranger) (famed for his Caldwell's Rangers group). His partner was Matthew Elliott (loyalist). They were pro British in the fights.
There was a Matthew Caldwell who was born in Kentucky in 1781 and was a member of the Missouri House of Representatives in 1834 from Washington, Missouri in Franklin County, Missouri The name of Matthew Caldwell was mentioned in a history of the country written the 1890s but no details were given on who Caldwell was.